Shar
Basic Stats Status: Greater Deity Aliases: Mistress of the Night, Lady of Loss, Dark Goddess  Symbol: Black disk with deep purple border  Alignment: NE  Portfolio: Dark, night, loss, forgetfulness, unrevealed secrets, caverns, dungeons, the Underdark Domains: Cavern, Darkness, Evil, Knowledge  Favored Weapon: "The Disk of Night" (chakram) Dogma Reveal secrets only to fellow members of the faithful. Never follow hope or turn to promises of success. Quench the light of the moon (agents and items of Selûne) whenever you find it, and hide from it when you cannot prevail. The dark is a time to act, not wait. It is forbidden to strive to better your lot in life or to plan ahead save when directly overseen by the faithful of the Dark Deity. Consorting with the faithful of good deities is a sin except in business dealings or to corrupt them from their beliefs. Obey and never speak out against ranking clergy unless it would result in your own death. Summary Shar is a twisted being; reveling in hatred, evil , jealousy and spite. She can see all that happens within the dark; her domain, and encourages her followers to act during this time. She holds domain over grudges hidden but not forgotten, quiet revenge, and subtle hatred; along with caverns, forgetfulness, secrets and the Underdark. Shar is one of the oldest goddesses; believed to be born, along with her twin sister Selune, of Ao at the making of Toril. She is engaged in a battle with her twin that predates recorded history, and because of this, holds a silent hatred for the daughter of Selune as well; Mystra, goddess of Magic. It is because of this that she spitefully created a power that rivals and opposes the Weave; the Shadow Weave. History Shar is the dark twin of Selûne. She has battled her sister since shortly after their creation. Their constant fighting has resulted in the creation of many other deities. Rather than overtly confronting other deities, Shar seeks to gain power by subverting mortal worshipers to her faith. By her very nature, however, she is opposed to powers of light, the unsecretive Shaundakul, and her own sister. Her only frequent ally is Talona, who may eventually serve Shar to stave off the predations of Loviatar.(1) Hierarchy The church of Shar is made up of independent cells that have clearly defined lines of command. All cells in a particular region are under the purview of a superior priest. Clergy members revel in secrets, using them to tie each other together in loyalty and community. They pursue practical goals of advancing the power of the priesthood and of Shar's worshipers while avoiding the direct opposition of other faiths (except that of Selûne). The clergy of Shar work to overthrow governments, promote Shar's patronage of avengers, organize secret cabals, and create false cults to further their ends.(2) Clerics & Sects Clerics of Shar pray for their spells at night, and celebrate no holy days except the Rising of the Dark, which occurs on the Feast of the Moon and involves a blood sacrifice and the revelation by senior clerics of which plots the church will be advancing in the coming year. At least once a tenday, a cleric must attend a Nightfall, a dancing and feasting revel performed at nightfall that is followed by a small act of wickedness which the cleric reports to her superiors in the clergy In addition to her clerical clergy, most Wizards and Sorcerers who are attuned with Shar’s creation; the shadow weave, pay homage to her in some way, weather by devotion, or a sacrifice of a part of their mind to the Shadow Weave. Shar also has under her control a sect of monk sorcerers who are adepts in the use of the Shadow Weave. Source http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fr/20010221b